7 Reasons to Remove Your Popcorn Ceiling

6:00:00 AM

I have recently realized that at no time in my married life have I had a smooth ceiling. In our first home (a townhouse), all the walls and ceilings were textured with a kind of orange peel texture.And right now, I'm in the process of removing the popcorn ceiling in two main rooms in my house: the kitchen and the living room. I'll share more next week about the process that we're using. But why on earth would I want to do this? It is a large, time consuming task. I have 7 reasons why you would want to get rid of a popcorn ceiling!

It can contain aesbestos

In older homes – pre 1978 – popcorn ceilings often had aesbestos. I can remember going to an elementary school where we were told it was dangerous to throw anything at the ceiling because it had asbestos in it. If you have a home that was built before the 90's stop before you do anything else and test to see if you have aesbestos in the ceiling. In fact, if you have any reason to believe that you have asbestos, have it tested. Don't risk it; asbestos removal is not a DIY project!

It catches dust

All those bumps and crannies? It catches dirt and dust way more than a smooth ceiling.

It's impossible to patch

You can buy kits and spray to mimic the popcorn look, but it is basically impossible to get the look exactly the same.

It is easily marred and impossible to clean

Have you ever been up on a ladder and brushed up against your popcorn ceiling? When you knock a little bit down it leaves a mark. And when you try to clean the dust (see above) or cobwebs, one of two things happen: the dirt won't come down and the duster gets caught or you knock down even more popcorn.

It dates your home

The popcorn ceiling makes me think of the 70's. I just don't think contemporary when I see the rough ceilings.

It's hard to paint

It's hard to get even coverage with paint when you have an uneven surface. Enough said.

It hurts resale

Buyers see all of the above reasons and don't want to deal with fixing popcorn ceiling. It subtracts value from your home. A smooth ceiling may not add to the value of your home, but it will not detract from what you can get when you sell.

You Might Also Like

0
comments

About me

I’m Rachel, a real-life architect, wife and mom of three little girls 8 and under—including twins! I try to find a balance between my work outside the home and my work inside the home, and try to stay sane in the meantime. I love sharing new recipes, crafts, as well as homemaking and parenting tips—all the things that build the architecture of this mom.

Shop!

Subscribe to our email newsletter and get an awesome mini ebook of amazing Holiday sweets!

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

First Name

Email Address *

Newsletter Frequency

Every Post

Monthly

Email Format

html

text

Architecture of a Mom (Rachel Joyce) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com .